Plot

Summaries

Masters faces a career crossroads on her last day as a medical student and struggles with the choice to continue on the path to become a surgeon or to accept the rare opportunity to join House's team officially. Meanwhile, the team treats a 16-year-old girl who inexplicably collapsed days before embarking on an ambitious sailing tour around the globe. Despite the patient's life-changing diagnosis, the patient's family insists on getting her back on the seas in time for her potentially record-breaking launch. But to the team's surprise, including House, Masters makes a bold decision regarding the patient's treatment.

Spoilers

The synopsis below may give away important plot points.

Synopsis

Masters starts her day by literally sitting straight up and working on mnemonic memorization of medical terms and anatomy. She's doing it to keep sharp while working with House. Her roommate reminds her today is her last day as a medical student. She is one lumbar puncture (LP) away from being finished.

At a hospital a scummy student named Cruz has taken the last LP from her. He tells Masters that for the first time ever House has listed an intern spot on his team, clearly meaning he want her to stay on.

Olivia Wilde ("Thirteen") has re-joined the team, with House telling everyone she was in rehab. The first case is a 16-year old named Kendall Pearson who was trying to be the youngest person to sail around the world. During training she collapsed and her sponsors want to make sure she's healthy enough for the trip. To break the record she must leave in three days. From a video camera atop the mast of her ship, they see Kendall hit her back and start running appropriate tests. House makes reference to the internship and Masters.

Masters takes a liking to Kendall who, like her, is a prodigy in her given field.

Masters gets paged for the LP she needs and on the way asks Cuddy for advice about working with House. Cuddy doesn't say much to help her decide.

Cruz has once again stolen her LP. But after spotting a chicken on House's desk, Masters finds that House has just finished an LP and forged her name on the record. She says she plans to accept the internship and he says she can have it if she submits her LP log without actually having completed the tenth one herself.

Kendall's hands turn blue during a treadmill test. The next idea is that Kendall had a cerebral vasospasm and more tests are ordered. House is planting fake chicken prints heading from Wilson's office as part of some silly contest the two doctors are having.

Masters tries to turn in the false test log but chickens out.

Thirteen tells Masters that House and Wilson have a bet to see who can keep a chicken the longest without being caught by security. House has apparently gotten ahold of the calmest, least noisy breed of chicken.

Thirteen allows Masters to perform an LP on her to complete her requirement. Thirteen doesn't think there's room on House's team for someone who does things differently -- like "playing by the rules."

The thinking is that Kendall's case has been figured out. Her pineal gland was calcified and hormone replacements are ordered. House figures out that Masters gave Thirteen the LP and rescinds his offer for her to join the team: "Enjoy surgery, you'll do fine."

Masters wakes up the next morning, this time rattling off info related to her new internship in surgery. She impresses the chief during the first surgery she observes (by breaking a rule that interns observe and not comment) and he asks her to scrub in on his next procedure. Masters is surprised to learn Kendall is being prepped for surgery and she runs over to learns from Mr. Pearson that Kendall is having a sympathectomy. The procedure shouldn't impact the record.

During the surgery Masters has scrubbed in on she hears that Kendall's surgery is going poorly. To the horror of her chief Masters says she has to go to the bathroom and heads over to Kendall's surgery. House seems pleased to learn Masters lied to be there. The diagnosis for Kendall is Wegener's and steroids are ordered. Masters thinks it might be something else and House says if she wants to work on the case she should fill out a consult form. Masters claims she's only going to stay for this one case.

Masters pulls an all-nighter working on Kendall's case. She ends up sleeping in the office and sees Wilson try to steal a fake chicken House has planted in his office to trap him. This gives Masters an idea.

Masters thinks Kendall has a bone-based form of salmonella. During the exam Kendall talks about the fact that doing what you love often comes at a price. Masters seems to find what she's looking for in her left arm.

Masters and Chase conduct the MRI. He tells her that she should stick with surgery, since House can change you for the worse. During the MRI they see what looks to be cancer in Kendall's arm.

Masters tells the family that she has cancer. It is treatable with amputation of her arm. Kendall doesn't want to end her career, regardless of the fact sailing could increase the chance of it spreading. Masters is stunned when the parents seem to be considering letting her race.

Mr. Pearson tells Masters that his wife has decided to let Kendall race. Even though he doesn't love the idea, he's worried going against his daughter will destroy their family. She petitioned to be an emancipated minor in the past and he thinks she'll do it again.

Masters talks to House (who is training a dog to snatch Wilson's chicken) about her dilemma. When she says she's unwilling to lie to get Kendall life-saving surgery House he was wrong about her: "You're not exceptional."

Wilson tells her a story about a former girlfriend of House's signing a petition to get him life-saving surgery he didn't want. Afterwards a security guard spots House's chicken.

Masters asks Kendall one more time to have the surgery before leaving. In saying no, she tells Masters that "at the top of the game, you play by different rules." Masters ends up giving Kendall an IV that puts her into cardiac arrest. As she crashes Masters rushes to her parents, tells them this is what would have happened at sea and gives them the consent forms. Masters rushes to the OR and tells them how to quickly stabilize Kendall and hands over the forms.

Kendall wakes up without an arm. Despite the fact they found cancer in her lymph nodes (it was spreading) she yells that she hates her parents. Masters listens to all of this.

The next day Masters goes to House and tells him she not going to join his team. She not sure at this point what she's going to do, but as she exits the hospital, she is smiling and holds her head high.